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A Faun Teased by Children

A Faun Teased by Children is a marble sculpture by the Italian artists Gian Lorenzo Bernini and his father, Pietro Bernini. It was executed in 1616 and 1617, when Gian Lorenzo was still under twenty years old. The work is known from the source text as Fauno entretenido por cupidos and is currently in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The sculpture reflects the early output of Bernini, created in marble during his youth, in collaboration with his father.

Marble sculpture of A Faun Teased by Children showing a muscular nude figure reaching up toward grapes and a child, with another child near the base.
A Faun Teased by Children by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, shown in a softly lit gallery at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
July 2006 © · Public domain
Faun Teased by Children marble sculpture with a muscular faun surrounded by cherubic children, grapes, and vines in a museum gallery.
Faun Teased by Children, a marble sculpture showing a faun playfully grasped by children among grapes and vines.
May 2012 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Marble sculpture of A Faun Teased by Children showing a nude faun with children playing around him and holding grapes overhead.
A Faun Teased by Children, a marble sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, shown with children playfully surrounding the faun.
January 2006 © · CC BY 2.0
A marble sculpture of A Faun Teased by Children showing a muscular faun with children and grapevines entwined around him.
A Faun Teased by Children, a marble sculpture with a faun surrounded by lively children and grapevines.
© · CC BY-SA 3.0
Marble sculpture A Faun Teased by Children showing a bearded faun surrounded by playful children figures.
A Faun Teased by Children, a marble sculpture of a faun surrounded by playful children figures.
May 2017 © · CC BY-SA 4.0

Identification

TitleA Faun Teased by Children
Other titlesFauno entretenido por cupidos; Um fauno provocado por crianças; Faune émoustillé par des Amours; Il Fauno molestato da cupidi; Bacchanal: A Faun Teased by Children
TypeMarble sculptural group

Historical context

Art-historical contextBacchic groups like this were not uncommon in early 17th-century Rome and Florence
Date made1616–1617

Creator

ArtistsGian Lorenzo Bernini and Pietro Bernini
Artist nationalityItalian
Family relationshipPietro Bernini was Gian Lorenzo Bernini's father
Gian Lorenzo Bernini's age at creationNot yet twenty years old

Discovery and provenance

Early attribution statusNot identified as a work by Bernini when it was kept in his house; later identified by Federico Zeri as an early work of Bernini
Reason for obscurityA significant defect, especially the unfinished lower part of one putto's left arm, may have discouraged patrons and kept the work in Bernini's house
Later collection historyEntered a French collection in the 20th century
Auction historySold at a Paris auction house in 1972; reappeared on the London art market in 1973 and was sold again
Museum acquisitionAcquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1976
Early locationKept for a long time in Bernini's house, Palazzo Bernini, at 11 Via della Mercede, Rome

Location and ownership

Current locationMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Current collectionMetropolitan Museum of Art
Display statusCurrently exhibited

Physical characteristics

ConditionThe lower part of one putto's left arm is unfinished at the elbow, because the remaining thin marble was insufficient to complete the arm
DimensionsApproximately 120 cm high and 90 cm wide
FormCarved from a very shallow block
Number of figuresFive

Materials

MaterialMarble
Marble colorGenerally warm honey-colored, with paler tones on the animal coat and tree trunk and browner tones on the faun's and putti's bodies

Technique

Carving techniqueNoted for superb carving and drilling/perforation technique
Structural supportStabilized by the use of legs and arms as bracing, with adequate weight at the base to prevent tipping

Appearance

Main sceneA lighthearted struggle between a faun and three putti
CompositionThe faun stands with one leg on either side of a central tree, climbing it while reaching for a fruit-bearing branch above; two putti push his head back and a third stumbles over the animal on the ground
Animal depictedA ground animal, variously described as a dog, a lioness, or a panther, raises its head to eat grapes from a lower branch
Hanging peltA lion skin or panther skin hangs from a lower rear branch of the tree

Iconography and meaning

Bacchic characterThe group may be read as Bacchic, with the hanging pelt and grape-eating animal suggesting Bacchus
Iconographic interpretationThe iconography is not completely clear; proposed readings include Pan or a drunken faun trying to gather fruit, with the fruit symbolizing eternal love through the living vine wrapped around the dead tree
Alternative interpretationThe sculpture may contrast earthly lust with divine, heavenly love; in one reading the putti are cupid-like amorini who either mock or repel the faun's indecorous aggression
Figure identification notesThe central figure is identified as a faun because it has human legs, while the children are putti because they are wingless; satyrs would have goat legs

Significance

Critical assessmentCritics regard it as one of the best Roman works of the early 17th century, praised for the classicism of its motifs and its carving and drilling technique